Gaza border authority confirms presence of Israel’s tanks at crossing, sole gateway between Egypt and Gaza for humanitarian aid

• IDF says it has control of Rafah crossing – follow it live

Israeli military forces have taken control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, a key strategic objective and the sole gateway between Egypt and Gaza for humanitarian aid, Israeli military officials have confirmed.

“At the moment we have operational control of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing and we have special forces scanning the crossing … That is what is happening in the upcoming hours. The operation is not over … I can’t give a timeline,” a military official said on Tuesday morning.

Chinese embassy calls for an end to what it terms ‘anti-China political farce’ after payroll records exposed to hackers

Reeves says Labour has a vision for the country. Stability will be change, she argues.

I know – warm words are not enough. I do not underestimate the challenges we face. But I am so ambitious for our country. I know the huge potential found all across Britain and the constraints that are holding that potential back are not immutable forces.

They require vision, courage, and responsible government. Vision – to pursue a different approach, drawing on new economic thinking shaping governments in Europe, America and around the world – but which this Conservative government resists.

Charities fear ‘increasing risks of destitution and exploitation’ of refugees as they go missing

The Home Office is dealing with growing fallout from the high-profile roundups of asylum seekers it wants to send to Rwanda, as some have gone into hiding while others have fled across the border to Ireland.

Officials began rounding up asylum seekers to detain them for the Rwanda scheme a week ago, with at least one now on hunger strike and another threatening suicide.

The theme was JG Ballard’s 1962 short story, The Garden of Time, which meant references to decay, lots of florals and more than one look that seemed to have nothing to do with anything

Many European diplomats avoid lavish Moscow ceremony and Ukrainian security service says it has caught a network of Russian agents

Russia and Ukraine have accused each other at the global chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague of using banned toxins on the battlefield, the organisation said on Tuesday.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said that the accusations were “insufficiently substantiated” but added that “the situation remains volatile and extremely concerning regarding the possible re-emergence of use of toxic chemicals as weapons.”

Halifax reports a small rise in average house prices last month.. while latest construction PMI shows housebuilding lagging behind

• ‘They’re everywhere’: Labour’s wooing of City goes into overdrive

The small increase in UK house prices in April has left them broadly flat since the turn of the year, says Peter Arnold, EY UK chief economist:

The stabilisation in market conditions reflects the large fall in mortgage rates since last summer, with transactions and prices appearing to have passed their trough.

However, the recent rise in mortgage rates is likely to dampen the recovery in the short-term. And looking ahead, the recovery in prices is unlikely to be rapid given that poor affordability continues to significantly limit the pool of potential buyers and mortgage rates are only likely to fall back slowly.

As the prospect of the first rate cut since March 2020 drifts further into the distance, borrowing costs have edged higher and budgets have been squeezed.

A short-lived burst of positivity in the early weeks of this year led to higher supply, increasing downwards pressure on prices. A wave of homeowners currently rolling off sub-2% mortgages is adding to the financial pressures in the system. As a summer rate cut moves onto the horizon, we expect UK house prices to respond and rise by 3% in 2024.”

“Borrowers have benefited from cheaper mortgage rates since the start of the year, which has boosted market activity and enquiries.

“Since then, higher funding costs have led to higher mortgage rates over the past couple of weeks and there is likely to be some volatility in pricing ahead. Borrowers would be wise to secure a rate they like the look of to protect themselves from further price fluctuations in the short term.

“House prices are yo-yoing as buyers and sellers negotiate their way through the uncertain economy, with a small monthly rise in April.

“Consumers are expecting a fall in interest rates at some point this year. But with lenders increasing rates in the last few weeks, buyers have understandable hesitancy over the right price to offer, while sellers are trying to navigate how offers align with their expectations.

It looks like mortgage rates will continue to remain elevated with the Bank of England poised to keep interest rates at 16-year highs of 5.25% this Thursday.

Financial markets have been pushing back their forecasts for the timing of the first rate hike this year, with August currently pencilled into the diary, although that could certainly change depending on the data.”

Two forces apologise to driver saying time has run out for any charges over incident on motorway

A woman who described her terror at being harassed on a motorway by a man posing as a police officer has been told there can be no criminal investigation because forces failed to act in time.

The woman said she was driving on her own on the M1 in March 2023 when a “really angry” man in an unmarked car began shouting at her to pull over, showing what looked like a police ID, the BBC reported.

Charity asks people to charm worms to the surface and count their numbers to contribute to worm map of UK

Dancing for worms may seem an odd pursuit, but an environment charity is calling for people across the UK to charm the creatures from the depths in order to count them.

The Soil Association is trying to get a nationwide picture of worm abundance, to track their decline and see where they need the most help.

Company told the FAA that staff may have skipped some tests and ‘falsified aircraft records’

• Business live – latest updates

Boeing faces a new investigation after the planemaker told US regulators it might have failed to properly carry out some quality inspections on its 787 Dreamliner planes.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was “investigating whether Boeing completed the inspections and whether company employees may have falsified aircraft records”.

Exclusive: Audience had ‘vitriolic reaction’ to European tone of musical, forced to close early

Rufus Wainwright has defended his musical Opening Night, which was forced to close early after mixed reviews, saying West End audiences lack “curiosity” after Brexit and the British press had turned on the project because it was “too European”.

Opening Night was Wainwright’s first musical and is an adaptation of John Cassavetes’ 1977 film about an actor struggling to cope, who is played by Sheridan Smith. Directed by Ivo van Hove, it opened in March at the Gielgud theatre but a month later announced it would be closing two months early.